Telephone attachment



March 9 1926. 1,576,305

M. ELYBULLWINKEL TELEPHONE ATTACHMENT Filed April 1', 1925 INVENTOR Patented Mar. 9, 1926.

UNITED s'r'rss MARTIN E. nuLLwrNKnn, or noonLYN, NEW YonKL TELEPHONE ArraoHianN'r. I

Application filecl'April 1, 1925. Serial no. 19,1117.

To all 107mm it may concern- Be it known that I, MARTIN- E. BULL- WINKEL, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding 'inthe borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in a Telephone Attachment, of which the following is a specification.

Inasmuch as a general rule, telephone instruments, particularly publicly used telephone instruments, are given little care and attention; they become uncleanly, and often times are sufliciently so that they may be the cause of infection by spreading the germs of tuberculosis, and possibly other diseases. For this reason also, it is often found to be practically impossible for persons accustomed to the use of cleanly instruments to utilize public telephones, irrespective of how convenient they may be, and how important at any particular time it is to send a message or hold a conversation over the telephone lines.

The object of my present invention is the provision of a small and inexpensive attachment which may be readily available, easily applied to a telephone instrument, and by the use of which the liability of becoming infected by any disease germs which may be lurking in an unclean telephone is substantially eliminated, and also in the use of which the transmission of the message over the telephone is not interferred with to any perceptible extent. To this end in carrying out my invention I employ a blank made of suitable material and shaped to any desired configuration, and which may be readily taken from a dispenser adapted to contain the same and placed adjacent the telephone instrument, or which may be carried by the user, and which may be easily placed in position on the transmitter mouth piece, so as to be supported thereby, and so as to overhang the opening therein. It

will be understood however, that while the invention is particularly adapted for this purpose its use is not so limited, as it may be employed for other and equally obvious purposes without departing from the nature and spirit of the invention.

The telephone attachment made in accord ance with my invention will be hereinafter more particularly described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which,

Fig.1 is a side elevation of a telephone transmitter with my improved attachment applied thereto. I

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the attachment,and r Y 3 is a plan onan enlarged scaleof the blank from which the attachmentfis made.

Referring to the drawingthe telephone at tachment made 1n accordance with my invention may be constructed from a blank of paper or other material having suflicient body and strength to serve the intended purposes. This blank comprises a long flap 10, and a short flap 11 in which there is an opening 12, the extent of the flaps being determined by a transverse fold line 13, on

which the body of the blank is folded to form the flaps. Also as clearly indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawing the blank may be foldedor creased along a central longitudinal line 14-, in order to more readily apply the attachment to the telephone for use.

In the drawing the mouth piece of a telephone transmitter is indicated at 15, and

the body of the transmitter at 16.

In using the attachment the same may be placed in a container adjacent a telephone instrument, so as to be readily available in the same manner, for example, as various forms of paper drinking cups are retained in containers adjacent a water cooler, .or a number of these telephone attachments may readily be carried in the pocket of a coat or vest so as to be readily available for use when desired. In applying the attachment the base or lower end of the long flap is clasped by the fingers, and by virtue of the transverse fold line the short flap may be turned outwardly along the transverse fold line 13, so that this short flap may be caused to engage the mouth piece of the transmitter by passing the .month piece through the opening 12, and then permitting the mouth piece to support the attachment, in'which position as will be understood the long flap covers the opening in the mouth piece of the transmitter, preferably in a position slightly spaced therefrom, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawing. lVith the attachthe use of this attachment does not in any way materially: interfere with the tnansmis= sion ozfithe over the=telepl1onee It Will furthermore be understood that the particular form of the attachment as herein shown and "described-is moreor "less"- illustrative, as other and equally, obvious forms of the invention, and various materials from which the blank: may; bola-made:

may be employed in carrying out the inven- It will be equally obvious that lt-heeparticu larnusento which invent-ion is-applicable as hereinbefore described is notthe only one obvious purposes.

being an op'eningprovid'ed' in the short flap fornrleceiving the mouthpiece of a telephone instrument, and there being acrease extendi 11g-1ongitudi11allyin the long flap and into the short flap between the transverse fold in the blank and the opening, in .the short-flap to enableether userto readilyseparate the flaps and it hus facilitate-the I placing of the 5 attaohnaien-ta-on the mouthpiece of: the tele phone.

Signed. ,by mew-this 25thday of Mchp, 19-25.-

MARTIN E. BULLYVINKEL. 

